International
The precarious workforce: An ongoing threat to quality higher education | As full-time professors retire, universities are not replacing tenure-stream positions at the same rate; instead, more and more courses are being taught on a contract basis (remunerated per course) or through limited-term or sessional positions (where instructors teach a large number of courses, with little time for research).
Prepare for a worldwide digital transformation | Higher education institutions and government research organisations are responsible for more than three quarters of basic research on average, the [OECD] analysts found.
Reforming higher education ‘the Welsh Way’ | Wales will become the first system in Europe to offer equivalent maintenance support to full-time and part-time undergraduates, as well as postgraduates, explains Kirsty Williams.
Do universities take a stand against nationalism? | The two-day international conference, held on the Berkeley campus, focused on global perspectives on politics and policy and the future of higher education amid rising nationalism or ‘new nationalism’ worldwide.
A new approach to regional higher education is essential to our economic future | The majority of Australia’s 40 universities operate regional campuses… Most of these campuses undertake research in areas like precision agriculture, organics, aquaculture, medicinal cannabis production, plant genetics and plant science. They’re building expertise relevant to our agriculture-driven economic prosperity. Yet the people living around those campuses don’t all benefit from them.
U.S. National
Passage of Senate Tax-Reform Bill Leaves Colleges Scrambling | College leaders spoke out in near uniformity against the Republican lawmakers’ plans, which received a major boost over the weekend. “At a time when our economy is demanding more education for more of our citizens, we cannot erect new barriers for the millions of Americans who need affordable higher education,” wrote Margaret Spellings, president of the University of North Carolina system and a former education secretary, under President George W. Bush.
Rural America’s Neglected Higher-Education Problem | On the podcast we talk about why many rural students still aren’t getting college degrees, and why it matters.
Moody’s Downgrades Higher Ed’s Outlook From ‘Stable’ to ‘Negative’ | In a report, the agency cited financial strains at both public and private four-year institutions, mainly muted growth in tuition revenue. But it also cited “uncertainty at the federal level over potential policy changes.”
How Colleges Deepen Inequality | America likes to see itself as a meritocracy, and college as an engine of social mobility. In reality, writes Richard V. Reeves, “higher education has become a powerful means for perpetuating class divisions across generations.”
U.S. States
What Maine can learn from Aroostook County’s college aspirations | [H]igh schools in Aroostook County sent 67 percent of their students to college between 2009 and 2016, a larger share than every county except Cumberland, the richest county in the state by per capita income. And of those Aroostook County students who go to college, 67 percent earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, well above state and national averages.
State university leaders oppose Republican tax plan | The current Republican tax plan is a betrayal of promises made to students and threatens the future of America’s high-tech economy, according to the leaders of the University of Massachusetts system, who came out in opposition to both the House and Senate versions of the plan this week.
President of the Year: California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley | “I’m no different than most of the 2 million students that we serve in the California Community Colleges. The only difference is that I got lucky. I was lucky to come across people who guided me, who told me how to navigate the system of higher education that I’d gotten into, who provided me employment when I needed it,” he said. “I just believe that we need to build a system that doesn’t rely on a person’s luck, we need to build a system that relies on a person’s willingness to invest their time and take risk to get into higher education.”
College Illinois sales halted, program’s future uncertain | As of June 30, the fund was $320 million short of what it needs to support College Illinois’ obligations, according to the most recent actuarial report on the health of the program.
Institutional
Serial Rapists | Howard University, a revered historically black institution, allowed two students, alleged serial rapists, to remain on campus, according to a federal lawsuit that claims administrators failed in their handling of sexual assault reports.
What Happens When Sex Harassment Disrupts Victims’ Academic Careers | Academics and others who have spoken out about experiencing sexual harassment or assault also speak of long-term repercussions to their careers. Students and former students describe carving paths that would allow them to avoid certain professors.
Who Changes Majors? (Not Who You Think) | Almost a third of first-time college students choose a major and then change it at least once within three years, and students who started out in mathematics and the natural sciences are likelier than others to switch fields, federal data released Thursday show.
Easing the Transition from Education to Employment | Strada Education Network, an education nonprofit based in Indianapolis, launched the MSI Measuring College Value Grant last year for minority serving institutions that seeks to enhance the payoff for their students by helping them work toward gainful employment. The five grantee institutions, dubbed “The Fantastic Five” by Strada, spent the 2016-17 academic year in the planning phase of the grant.